Buying electric cars: the federal subsidy program could be back on track

The federal government is reportedly about to reinstate its electric vehicle assistance program, which was suspended last January.

Until January 12, consumers were entitled to $5,000 in assistance for the purchase of an electric vehicle. However, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decided to suspend the incentive program for zero-emission vehicles (iVZE).

This is what Julie Dabrusin, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, told Canadian Press as she left the House of Commons on Tuesday.

At the same time, she mentioned that Canada's 2035 target for electric vehicles - all new light vehicles sold will have to be zero-emission - will be maintained.

Since the reduction of the Quebec incentive and the abolition of the federal one, sales of electric vehicles have plummeted.

In the first quarter of 2025, zero-emission vehicles accounted for just 8.11% of sales in the country, down 16.5% on the last quarter of 2024, according to Statistics Canada.

Controversy and confusion

The abolition of the federal iVZE program was controversial. The program, in which more than $70 million remained, was emptied in just three days, thanks in part to Tesla's more than 8,500 grant applications.

Nearly 46% of these requests were made through a Quebec City sales outlet. Employees made more than 4,000 applications for Quebec, as well as for all other Canadian provinces. These applications totaled over $20 million.

Meanwhile, Quebec dealers had to make do with some 400 applications between January 10 and 12. Since then, they have had to cope with a $12 million shortfall, a sum that has still not been reimbursed by the federal government.

Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland has pledged to make the reimbursement within an unspecified timeframe.